Abstract
Application of the skewness method to 14 marine magnetic anomaly profiles across the Galapagos ridge provides a precise estimate of the equatorial contribution of the long‐term non‐dipole field. The average inclination anomaly (observed remanent inclination minus dipole inclination) so determined from the central anomaly over the Galapagos ridge is −3.3° ± 0.9°. This result agrees closely with estimates of the non‐dipole field contribution at equatorial latitudes as predicted from prior paleomagnetic studies.